Patriotic Americans know US is the best

The U.S. Constitution was ratified June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify. America is officially 229 years young. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. And, everybody knows Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.

We have friends who have been missionaries in Europe for about 30 years. I remember asking early on what stood out to them the most about Europe. History! Most of the rest of the world is really old, historically speaking! Touring Russia the past three years, I often smiled when friends showed me hundreds of years of palaces and works of art. When those magnificent buildings were built native Americans and early settlers were living in much more primitive dwellings.

Since our founding, America has grown from a relatively insignificant nation to the most powerful and prosperous nation ever. President Obama promised to change all of that, and he was very successful bringing hope and change with his pen and phone. President Trump has promised to make America great again, and I believe he could if politicians and liberal media were to give him a chance. But, that’s not going to happen. Politicians and media types are too attached to their positions and power to pursue what might be good for everybody else. In spite of their continually negative rhetoric, they are the 1-percenters among us.

Too many in Washington say we should follow the lead of other “civilized” nations regarding health care and other social programs. OK, let me get this straight: America is the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth, and folks in Washington say we can be even better if we do what other nations are doing. What am I missing here? America didn’t become prosperous and powerful by doing what other civilized nations do.

Thank goodness George Washington refused to be America’s first king. In his day all the other “civilized” nations had monarchies. What could have gone wrong? Who ever heard of a government of, by, and for the people with checks and balances to keep any one person or group from ruling the nation? Frankly, I believe our founding fathers did a pretty good job of establishing America, though few history books in schools today have much praise for them.

Liberals, progressives, academia, and media like to badmouth America today for all of our failures. Why? Some people thrive on talking and thinking about all the wrongs. Bless their hearts.

Some of us look forward to celebrating our independence, and remembering the sacrifices America’s settlers made to establish a republic and a nation. Some of us, like many of those who founded our nation, believe God’s providence played a master role in creating America, and we thank Him.

Are there failures and wrongs in our history? Certainly. Have we corrected some of wrongs? Sure. We continually have failures and corrections. Just ask CNN who has been having trouble following its own “editorial standards” since the election, or the New York Times who is devoting more and more space to retractions these days. Who can one trust anymore?

Patriotic Americans look forward to parades, fireworks, hot dogs, hamburgers, baseball games, and dozens of family traditions as we celebrate Independence Day. Let’s take the day to celebrate all of our individual freedoms together.

Daniel L. Gardner is a contributing columnist who lives in Starkville. He can be reached at PJandMe2@gmail.com